“What do you use those machines for? They look rather intimidating.”
Hesitantly, she reached up to touch the edge of his jaw and upper neck, still reddened by the straps. He caught his breath at the touch and brought his hand up to trap hers against his cheek. For a moment she thought she felt him lean into her touch, then he seemed to snap out of it and removed her hand from his face. But he didn’t let go. Instead, he started walking, towing her behind him.
“Come, I’ll show you the gymnasium.”
She caught a look in his eyes, so fast she wasn’t even sure it had been real. It looked like yearning, vulnerability.
He led her into the room, locking the door behind them. She flicked her eyes between the door and him for a moment, betraying her unease.
“I just don’t want to be interrupted.” He explained, proving he had noticed her uncertainty. “Have a seat.” He said, motioning to a couple of chairs to the side of the room. She sat, looking around with curiosity. He sat on the chair opposite.
“What you just saw is my therapy for scoliosis. For my crooked back.” He explained gruffly when she looked confused at the strange word. He gestured around. “This room was being worked on and it was ready just this morning. That’s why I canceled our morning ride. I wanted to inspect the setup of the machines.”
“I understand.” She said, although she didn’t understand at all. She had never seen machines like these. One of them looked like a medieval torture rack. Others had levers, straps and pulleys with weights attached to them. The confusion must have shown on her face. He sighed and explained.
“They help stretch and reposition my spine. When my neck is pulled, it stretches my spine, the bands pull each side of my back into alignment. It works, but it is temporary. That’s why I do it often.” He gesticulated with his hands as he explained the forces and mechanisms. It looked violent.
“Does it pain you?”
“The therapy or my back?” He asked with a twist of his mouth.
“Both, either. I don’t know.” She felt uncomfortable probing. What was the right thing to ask or say in a situation like this? But she found she really wanted to know if something pained him.
“The therapy doesn’t hurt. It might look strange, but it actually relieves me. And my back...” he shrugged. “It only aches when I abuse it. As when I ride or walk for too long.”
“Then you must take care not to do so.”
He smiled, as if amused by her concern. “I’ll try not to, my lady. Now, were you looking for me, or was our encounter a fortunate coincidence?”
He clearly didn’t want to talk more about the subject, which seemed to be a very sensitive one for him, so she accepted the change of subject.
“I was. Looking for you, that is. I wanted to talk to you about Elizabeth’s come out.”
“Yes?”
“She wants to go to London at once. And be presented at the Queen’s Ball next month.”
“That is inconvenient. And rather sudden. Can you even accomplish it on such short notice?”
She hesitated. “I could, if we go to London and start making preparations at once. There are dresses to order, invitations to procure and a myriad of other details. We would also need to throw a ball ourselves to present her officially.”
He closed his eyes and exhaled roughly, as if already exhausted by the mere thought of going through that.
“Would you be able to handle all that? Is it really necessary?”
She stood up to pace around the room, which forced him to stand, too. Gentlemanly manners and all that.
“Oh, please, don’t. Don’t stand on my account. I don’t want your back–”
“I’m fine Abigail. Please, I’m not so lame that I cannot stand in the presence of a lady.”
Oh, now she seemed to have hurt his pride somehow. She was only trying to be considerate! He had said his back ached when he abused it, and she didn’t want him to get tired and his back to hurt on her account. She took a breath and sat down again.
“I didn’t mean that. Anyway, as we were discussing before. Yes, it is necessary if she is to be launched into society this season. Of course, we could wait until next year, but she doesn’t want to wait.”
“Why? Next year sounds like a better time. Most of the plans for the estate would be well underway or completed.”
“Not quite. Next year, you will be just as busy. And as much as I would like to delay her come out... I’m afraid the reason might have more to do with me than with her.”
